Cape Town – National government, the Western Cape, and the City of Cape Town will join forces to curb gang violence in the province, Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa said on Thursday.

Agreement had been reached on a “multi-disciplinary approach” to deal with gang violence in Manenberg and murder and crime spikes in Nyanga and Worcester, he told reporters in Cape Town.

Premier Helen Zille earlier said there was agreement to work together “as broadly as we can”.

“But, my belief is that until we get the specialised anti-drug and anti-gang units back and until we can bring the army in as a peacekeeping force when specific drug dealers are released from prison and there is a massive spike in gang violence… unless we can protect communities in those situations it will be an extremely difficult situation.”

Several Western Cape schools were forced to shut last week because of fears that more children would be caught in the crossfire between warring drug dealers and gangsters.

Zille has in the past criticised government for refusing to deploy the army to Manenberg, which has been the scene of bloody gang battles.

After speaking to reporters, Zille left for another meeting before Mthethwa and Cape Town mayor Patricia de Lille arrived for a media briefing.

Mthethwa said: “There is a meeting of minds particularly at the leadership level that what we are dealing with is something that is deep-seated… socio-economic problems which are affecting all of us.”

He said police officers were out and about in Manenberg and had stabilised the situation.

On deployment of the army, Mthethwa said: “There were misgivings from the provincial government… about the soldiers not being around. We said no, the soldiers cannot be their main issue in dealing with crime.”

Mthethwa said deploying the army would not address the causes of gangsterism and drug abuse.

“We are looking forward (to working with) particularly local government… let’s go to these communities, meet the communities, do our bit to work together,” he said.

De Lille said: “There’s certainly a meeting of minds at national, provincial, and local government that something drastic has to be done to deal with the scourge of drugs and gangsterism in the City of Cape Town.

“We agree that the approach to deal with gangs and drugs is not just a response of safety and security, but it must be a multi-disciplinary approach including social development, health and other departments within government.”

The City of Cape Town and the police ministry would jointly meet with those affected by the violence.

“I’m very hopeful we’ll see us going out together to give that hope to the community… to send out a message that we are working together,” said De Lille.

“Soon, in consultation with the minister’s (Mthethwa’s) office, we will be moving into those key hotspots in the Western Cape, especially Cape Town.”

Sapa

Rustenburg – Two men arrested in connection with the murder of NUM shop steward Isaiah Twala were released on bail by the Ga-Rankuwa Magistrate’s Court on Thursday, police said.

Simphiwe Booi, 44, and Khanyile Kayisa, 35, were each granted R2500 bail, Brigadier Thulani Ngubane said.

“Their lawyers’ arguments were that these men were witnesses in the Farlam Commission. We don’t have proof of that,” Ngubane said.

Their case was postponed to October 24. They were arrested on Wednesday evening at the Nkaneng and Marikana West informal settlements in connection with Twala’s murder.

Twala was shot and hacked to death on August 14 last year. Police found his body on the side of a hill in Marikana with the skull of a bull.

Ngubane said 25 people had been arrested for various murders that took place before August 16, 2012.

The latest arrests brought to 27 the number of people arrested and charged with murder alone. In total, 574 people had been arrested in Marikana.

Earlier, Ngubane said bail would be opposed, as the two men were allegedly linked to other cases police were investigating.

Forty-four people were killed during a wage-related strike at Lonmin’s platinum mining operations at Marikana last year. Thirty-four were killed on August 16, 2012 when police fired on them while trying to disperse and disarm them during a strike. Ten people, including two security guards and two policemen, were killed in the preceding week.

Lonmin workers wanted a R12 500 monthly salary during the strike. They had gathered on top of a hill near the Nkaneng informal settlement armed with knobkerries, pangas, iron rods, and spears.

Sapa

Cape Town – An accountant jailed for embezzlement was refused leave to appeal against his sentence in the Bellville Specialised Commercial Crime Court in Cape Town on Thursday.

Garth le Roux, 39, a married father of two, was jailed last month on 201 counts of fraud, involving R894 689.

Magistrate Sabrina Sonnenberg jailed him for five years on 158 counts of fraud, and an additional three years on a further 43

counts. She ordered that the sentences run concurrently, which meant he would serve the highest of the two sentences.

Le Roux had written a letter from prison, saying the five-year term was too harsh, and asked permission to take it on appeal.

In Thursday’s proceedings, the magistrate said she thoroughly considered all the facts at the time of passing sentence. She agreed with prosecutor Derek Vogel that there was no possibility of the sentence being reduced on appeal.

As the financial accountant, Le Roux had been responsible for the safeguarding of Pep Clothing’s daily petty cash float of R19,000. He manipulated the system for self-gain. One method used was to falsify wage claims that were paid from petty cash.

In another method, he manipulated subsistence claims lodged by consultants engaged from time to time, by inflating the amount claimed and keeping the excess for himself.

The third and fourth methods involved manipulation of petty cash claims lodged without supporting documents.

During his trial Pep Clothing’s financial manager, Arthur Meyer, described Le Roux as a competent accountant, and said company executives had been impressed with how strictly he had dealt with financial matters.

Meyer said he had never suspected any dishonesty from Le Roux. The embezzlement came to light after the payroll manageress expressed concerns about Le Roux.

He said the company wanted Le Roux jailed, but Sonnenberg ruled that the court’s decision had to be dispassionate, and not based on the sentiments of others.

Sapa

Durban – A pregnant woman climbed over a wall and jumped several metres down into her neighbour’s yard in a desperate attempt to avoid robbers who stormed her uMhlanga home on Wednesday.

The teacher, on maternity leave, was in her home in Chestnut Crescent, Prestondale, when five men forced opened the kitchen door and held up her domestic worker, who was washing dishes.

Hearing noises, the teacher fled through the back door into the garden. While climbing over the wall, she triggered the security alarm.
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Pretoria – North West deputy police commissioner William Mpembe instructed police to block the way of protesters at Marikana, the Farlam Commission of Inquiry heard on Thursday.

Louis Gumbi, for the family of murdered Warrant Officer Sello Leepaku and the wounded Lieutenant Shitumo Solomon Baloyi, read out notebook entries by three officers dispatched to strike-related unrest at Marikana on 13 August last year.

Warrant Officer Tsietsi Monene was also shot and hacked to death that day.

“The group just stood up and started to sing while walking away,” wrote Constable LM Mathivha.

“General [Mpembe] instructed us to escort them, and while escorting them, general instructed the Nyalas to block the group upfront… The group started to fight the police with pangas and police died. Others were critically injured.”

Another officer, a Captain Jinyane, wrote that Mpembe instructed police to prevent the protesters from moving. Mpembe denied giving such instructions.

“I never gave an instruction to officers to block marching protesters.”

The commission is investigating the deaths of 44 people killed during strike-related unrest at Lonmin’s platinum mining operations at Marikana, near Rustenburg in North West, in August last year.

Police shot dead 34 people, almost all striking mineworkers, on 16 August 2012 while trying to disperse and disarm them. Ten people, including two police officers and two security guards, were killed in the preceding week.

– SAPA

Johannesburg – The ANC has criticised AgangSA leader Mamphela Ramphele for asking President Jacob Zuma to reveal details about his personal wealth, describing her challenge as a “show-off stunt”.

ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu said in a statement on Thursday the ANC had noted Ramphele’s “uninformed remarks” which did not assist the poor or the fight against corruption.

“These remarks by Dr Ramphele are not only nothing new but are clearly based on ignorance of the legal framework created and implemented by our democratic dispensation.”

‘Politics of personality’

Mthembu said the ANC was committed to transparency and accountability amongst its public representatives, and all members of Parliament are compelled to annually declare their benefits.

“The South African people are faced with critical challenges, chief amongst them being poverty, unemployment and inequality. These challenges require dedicated men and women to commit themselves to work to eradicate these daily realities facing the majority of South Africans, not politics of personality and flaunting one’s personal wealth in the face of our people.

“Together with South Africans, the ANC has been part of a progressive body of opinion in our society that believes in the need to inculcate values of humility and service amongst our people; discouraging the so-called Izikhothane tendencies as demonstrated yesterday. The solutions to the challenges facing our country will not come from misguided populism but a dedication to the task at hand to build a better life for all,” Mthembu said.

Izikhothane (Zulu for “those who lick”) tendencies refers to youths who flaunt their wealth, burning clothes and cash.

Presidency spokesperson Mac Maharaj said late on Wednesday that Zuma disclosed his personal financial details to Cabinet annually, in terms of the Constitution and the Executive Members Ethics Act, 1998.

Ramphele on Wednesday claimed that Zuma had avoided disclosing his financial details.

“I call upon President Zuma to publish his accounts immediately. What is there to hide? South Africans deserve a president that sets a good example for the rest of the country to follow.

“President Zuma has used a convenient technicality to side-step this requirement. From his inauguration… the president has dodged the issue for over 1 565 days to date. With each passing day suspicion about his integrity mounts,” she said.
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Cape Town – The so-called DNA bill is one step closer to being signed into law after the National Assembly passed it on Thursday afternoon.

There was a lengthy delay before the bill was finally approved as the House sought to achieve a quorum.

Even after the bells had been rung for five minutes to summon MPs to the chamber, only 193 MPs were present. The required quorum is 201 – 50% of 400 plus one.

House chair Ben Ngubane postponed the vote and the House continued with other business. A short while later, Ngubane announced that the table staff had done a further head count and there were now 213 MPs present. The bill was then approved with the support of all parties.

Earlier, debate on the Criminal Law (Forensic Procedures) Amendment Bill was introduced by Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa, who said it would act as a “silent witness in the fight against crime”.

“The bill before this House amends the Criminal Procedures Act with the intention of enhancing the criminal justice system and allowing the taking of DNA samples and the establishment of a DNA database within SAPS,” Mthethwa told MPs.

The bill sets out the circumstances under which DNA samples should be taken from persons charged with serious crimes and those convicted of serious offences. It provides for the voluntary giving of DNA samples to help police in missing persons cases, and to identify human remains.

Police committee chair Annelize van Wyk said the bill’s passing during women’s month was significant as it was expected to enhance the fight against crimes committed against women and children.

“What will happen once this bill becomes an act, in simple terms, is that at the crime scene the police will look for evidence, among the evidence would be DNA that is left behind,” Van Wyk said.

“This will be known as crime scene samples and it will be loaded onto the database under the crime scene index.”

Detectives would then be able to link criminals to crime scenes by taking DNA samples and checking them against the index. The DNA database can also be used to exonerate convicted offenders.

“If a person is serving a sentence and that person knows that they are innocent and that they can prove their innocence with DNA, the bill allows for it,” Van Wyk said.

The Democratic Alliance supported the bill, but expressed reservations on its implementation.

DA MP Dianne Kohler Barnard said there was a lack of resources which led to serious backlogs at the country’s forensic science laboratories.

“If we now factor in the planned passing of the DNA legislation today, which will see DNA samples taken from every correctional services inmate as well as every newly arrested offender in the country, the sad reality is that with this proof that backlogs are once again a reality there is a very real fear that a backlog of monumental proportions will develop,” Kohler-Barnard said.

However, there was a crucial need for the bill, and this outweighed the party’s concerns.

– SAPA

Cape Town – Former president Thabo Mbeki’s legal representation will be covered by the State Attorney at the Seriti Commission of Inquiry, Justice Minister Jeff Radebe said on Thursday.

Addressing journalists in Cape Town, Radebe denied the State was refusing Mbeki legal help.

Mbeki is one of several witnesses subpoenaed to appear before the inquiry into allegations of corruption in South Africa’s multi-billion rand arms deal.

Lawyer Max Boqwana, representing Mbeki and his former Cabinet ministers, withdrew from the commission on Tuesday after it became clear the State would not pay the bill.

“The withdrawal of the firm Boqwana Burns has created an impression that government has refused to fund the former president’s legal representation in the Arms deal commission. This is indeed not true,” Radebe said.

No State pay for miners’ legal team

He said Mbeki and his former Cabinet members could decide to appoint private lawyers, but made it clear the State would not pay for this.

“This is perfectly permissible in terms of the regulations, however under these circumstances the costs for such legal representation shall be borne by the person requesting such additional support,” he said.

At the same media briefing, Radebe also announced miners wounded or arrested in last year’s Marikana violence should rely on the State’s evidence leaders to represent them.

Radebe said budgetary constraints made it impossible for the State to pay for private legal representation for the workers at the Farlam Commission of Inquiry.

“The department of justice and constitutional development is not any different from other departments in terms of the expectations to spend its resources prudently throughout its operations, including the operations of commissions,” Radebe said.

The State could also not act outside of Monday’s Constitutional Court ruling. The court dismissed an application for leave to challenge a ruling by the High Court in Pretoria against the wounded miners.

“The [high court] endorsed the principle that it is not generally within the domain of the courts to determine how the State utilises public funds,” Radebe said.

“This duty lies within the executive arm of government.”

Spending funds

Radebe said government was not “unsympathetic to the cause of the injured miners”.

“Our duty is to expend public funds within the legal framework which sets the parameters for spending public funds and how the said funds can be spent.”

Government was confident the Farlam Commission of Inquiry’s evidence leaders would protect the interests of miners.

“The evidence leaders have a particular responsibility to gather evidence, analyse it and present it to the commission impartially and without bias, to enable the commission to determine the facts and to make the necessary findings and recommendations,” Radebe said.

The commission is investigating the deaths of 44 people killed during strike-related unrest at Lonmin’s platinum mining operations at Marikana, near Rustenburg in North West, in August last year.

Police shot dead 34 people – almost all striking mineworkers – on 16 August 2012 while trying to disperse and disarm them. Ten people, including two police officers and two security guards, were killed in the preceding week.

– SAPA

Pretoria – The SA National Defence Force [SANDF] was not involved in corruption as some arms deal critics claimed, the Seriti Commission of Inquiry heard on Thursday.

It was critical for South Africans to understand the position of the armed forces regarding the controversial arms acquisition, SA Navy Rear Admiral Robert Higgs said while giving evidence for the second day in Pretoria.

“I believe that if we have an adequately equipped, well-trained and funded [military], it will help our economy to develop. Countries like Singapore and South Korea have done it well,” he said.

“There has to be credibility and trust. People must know that we don’t do corruption. If people perceived me to be corrupt, upfront I would not have credibility to be here and the people of South Africa would not believe me.”

Rationale

Evidence leader Simmy Lebala asked Higgs about the rationale of buying high-tech military hardware in an African country riddled with socio-economic problems.

“The critics will say we did not need these capabilities. They will say we are punching above our weight because it doesn’t matter which capabilities we acquire, we will remain an African state with better things to focus on,” said Lebala.

Higgs said South Africa was capable of balancing its needs perfectly.

“Chairman, I believe South Africa can walk and chew gum at the same time. We are capable of doing both and it comes to balance. It’s a matter of looking at it and being smart,” he said.

“The military adds a different dimension. People say you are a paper tiger if you talk without a military behind you. I believe there is a lot of credence to that.”

Lebala said critics argued the equipment was now lying obsolete without being maintained because the SANDF did not need it.

‘The arms deal was a waste’

“The critics are saying we have four frigates and three submarines and we can’t maintain them. They are stuck in their own tracks, some are at the harbour and the engines are breaking,” he said.

“It [the arms deal] was a waste, it defeats the same purpose of this acquisition that we went through.”
Higgs said maintenance in a navy was a continuous process.

“Maintaining a navy is continually renewing its capabilities. It is not a matter of buying four frigates and three submarines and forgetting about the navy for 30 years,” he said.

“If one looks at our huge responsibilities off the coast, the foreign policy initiatives that we are underpinning, one would look at it in a different context. Those submarines and frigates are the building blocks and they are exceedingly modest,” Higgs said.

President Jacob Zuma appointed the commission, chaired by Judge Willie Seriti, in 2011 to investigate alleged corruption in the 1999 multi-billion rand arms deal.

– SAPA

Durban – Zweli Mkhize resigned as KwaZulu-Natal premier because he could not juggle two posts, ANC spokesperson Jackson Mthembu said on Thursday.

“His resignation as premier of KwaZulu-Natal will now afford him ample time and opportunity to concentrate on his functions and tasks as ANC treasurer general,” said Mthembu.

“Between December 2012 and now, comrade Zweli has had to juggle between two positions, each with immense responsibilities, undoubtedly placing a strain on him as an individual.”

Mkhize was elected to the treasurer general post in December at the party’s elective conference in Mangaung.

A few months ago, he also stepped down as the party’s KwaZulu-Natal chairperson. He announced his resignation as premier on Thursday morning.

Full-time at Luthuli House

“These resignations by comrade Zweli Mkhize are in adherence to our Constitution which stipulates that as treasurer general… he should be full-time at the ANC headquarters, Luthuli House,” said Jackson.

Mthembu thanked him for the “immeasurable role” he played as premier since 2009.

“We are confident that comrade Zweli Mkhize will bring… diligence, commitment and the political astuteness that has always been his trademark [to Luthuli House]…”

Mthembu said the ANC executive committee in KwaZulu-Natal was tasked with identifying a new candidate for the premier post.

“The KZN ANC leadership will be expected to provide the national executive committee of the ANC with the names of three candidates from whom one will be selected.”

Contribution

The ANC in KwaZulu-Natal praised Mkhize for his contribution.

A statement by the provincial secretary Sihle Zikalala said Mkhize had not only eliminated the province’s R3bn overdraft, but had also improved service delivery.

Democratic Alliance KwaZulu-Natal leader Sizwe Mchunu said the DA welcomed Mkhize’s resignation.

“KwaZulu-Natal needs a full-time premier. The DA has consistently made this point since Dr Mkhize was appointed as ANC treasurer general,” he said.

The party was not happy with the appointment of the province’s education MEC Senzo Mchunu as acting premier as “he has consistently incited political intolerance, particularly against the DA in the province”.

“We remain hopeful that today’s swearing in will herald a new approach from him, one which sees positive and active engagement with all political parties in the province,” Mchunu said.

– SAPA